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Love triangle suspected in Riverside triple slaying

A man believed to have shot and killed two people inside an upscale Riverside neighborhood was the ex-boyfriend of one of the victims, a neighbor said Wednesday.

The alleged shooter had dated the woman, whose new boyfriend was in the process of moving in when he also was shot, said Melissa Kawile, 18.

Kawile said the alleged shooter, who was later killed by a police officer, lived across the street from his ex-girlfriend.

“Her new boyfriend was moving in,” Kawile said. “Right now, there’s still a moving truck there with all his stuff in it.”

The shooting occurred about 6 p.m. Tuesday in the 11500 block of Trailway Drive. The suspected gunman was shot dead as the first officer arrived on the scene.

The bodies of another man and a woman were found in the front yard and by the curb of a home inside the gated community. Authorities said they believed the three knew each other.

Kawile said she was in her backyard about three houses away when she heard what turned out to be gunshots.

“We live in a gated community," she said. "It’s safe here, so I just ignored it.”

After hearing the first six shots, there was a pause, followed by four more shots, then another five shots, she said.

When Kawile rushed out to the street, she said she saw a swarm of police officers and first responders. The gunman’s body, she said, was put on a stretcher and moved into an ambulance.

The victims, she said, seemed to be in their late 20s or early 30s.

-- Robert Faturechi

Photo: Riverside police investigators survey the crime scene in the 11500 block of Trailway Drive where a man believed to have shot and killed two people Wednesday morning. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times